Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has returned to the US from Russia in a major prisoner exchange.
Gershkovich had been detained in Russia for more than a year and was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a secretive trial last month.
The 32-year-old has been released alongside 15 other people – including two other American citizens and one US green card holder, five Germans and seven Russian citizens described as political prisoners.
Alsu Kurmasheva is also a journalist, an editor for US government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in jail last month accused of spreading false information.
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Russian-British citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza was a journalist including as Washington correspondent for the BBC in 2004-2005 and editor-in-chief of the London-based Russian Investment Review before going into politics and sharing his anti-war views. He has been detained since April 2022.
Paul Whelan is a corporate security executive and former US marine who was arrested at a hotel in Moscow in 2018 and said evidence against him was falsified.
They landed in the US at about 11.30pm EST on Thursday and were greeted by their families, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Speaking to the press, Gershkovich said he wanted the plight of the many political prisoners he had met while detained to be remembered. “It would be good to potentially do something about them as well, and I’d like to talk to people about that in the next weeks and months.”
About eight Russians imprisoned in various countries are expected to return to their home country as part of the exchange, including hitman Vadim Krasikov who was jailed for life for murder in Germany in 2021.
Biden said: “The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy…. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over.”
He added: “Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong.”
Soon after the news was confirmed on Thursday the Wall Street Journal homepage declared: “WSJ REPORTER EVAN GERSHKOVICH IS FREE.”
Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker was among Gershkovich’s friends and colleagues from the newspaper waiting to greet him after he came off a plane in the US.
In a letter published on the WSJ website shortly after he first left a Russian plane in Turkey, Tucker described it as a “joyous day” for his family, friends, colleagues and the “millions of well-wishers in the US and around the world who stood with Evan and defended the free press”.
She continued: “That it was done in a trade for Russian operatives guilty of serious crimes was predictable as the only solution given President Putin’s cynicism. We are grateful to President Biden and his administration for working with persistence and determination to bring Evan home rather than see him shipped off to a Russian work camp for a crime he didn’t commit.
“We are also grateful to the other governments that helped bring an end to Evan’s nightmare, in particular the German government that played such a critical role.”
Tucker said she was “proud of how forcefully the WSJ newsroom and Dow Jones responded to the call of a colleague in extreme distress. Now we and Evan’s many friends in the media and elsewhere can celebrate his return to freedom.
“All those who spoke up for Evan and worked for his release—the US and allied governments, Congress, the media industry, readers of the Journal, supporters of the free press, opponents of arbitrary detention, those moved by the plight of a young American journalist behind bars—can know that their support made a huge difference and is greatly, greatly appreciated.
“My greatest thanks, though, must go to Evan himself.
“The bogus case against him represented many significant things. A blow against press freedom. A warning to foreign journalists covering the Kremlin. A new tension in America’s relationship with Russia.
“But at the center of it all was Evan, our 32-year-old Moscow correspondent from New Jersey, who likes to cook and supports Arsenal Football Club, and who loved living in and reporting on Russia.
“He was our inspiration, the galvanizing force. We watched him deal with his absurd predicament with strength, composure, humor and a “heart-sign” from behind the walls of his courtroom glass cage. Along the way, we learned about his life and his history and understood why he is beloved by so many.
“Now that Evan is home, we plan to give him as much time and space as he needs to restore himself, reconnect, and ponder the next steps in his life and career. We will be right there with him and his family. And we look forward to seeing him in the newsroom when he is ready.”
Robert Thomson, chief executive of WSJ owner News Corp, told staff members in an email: “Evan’s emancipation would not have been possible without the concerted efforts of concerned, principled people who recognised that his cruel incarceration was unjust and immoral,” according to the NYT.
He added: “Journalists are potentially exposed to risk each and every day, and so we must continue to champion their profoundly important work and the role of a free press and free speech. We must also continue to highlight the plight of those individuals who remain unjustly imprisoned in Russia and elsewhere.
“Rupert, Lachlan and I are particularly pleased that Evan has been reunited with his family, with his friends and with his News Corp colleagues. His professional integrity and his triumph over adversity are beacons of hope in a turbulent world.”
The Gershkovich family, Evan’s mother Ella, father Mikhail and sister Danielle, said in a statement on Thursday: “We have waited 491 days for Evan’s release, and it’s hard to describe what today feels like. We can’t wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close. Most important now is taking care of Evan and being together again. No family should have to go through this, and so we share relief and joy today with Paul and Alsu’s families.”
They added: “Our family has felt so much love and support from Evan’s fellow journalists, his wonderful friends, and many, many people around the world. It made a difference to Evan and to us. And we especially thank Evan’s colleagues at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. They have taken care of Evan and our entire family since the beginning, and we are forever grateful.”
RFE/RL president and chief executive Stephen Capus said the broadcaster welcomed news of Kurmasheva’s “imminent release and are grateful to the American government and all who worked tirelessly to end her unjust treatment by Russia.
“Alsu’s release makes us even more determined to secure the freedom of three other RFE/RL journalists, cruelly imprisoned in Belarus and Russian-occupied Crimea. We will not rest until all of our unjustly detained journalists are home safe. Journalism is not a crime,” he said, referring to Ihar Losik and Andrey Kuznechyk in Belarus and Vladyslav Yesypenko in Crimea.
Reporters Without Borders director of campaigns Rebecca Vincent said of Gershkovich and Kumasheva that “neither should have spent a single day in a Russian prison for doing their jobs as journalists… journalists are not targets and must not be used as political pawns in this way.
“The international community must make clear to the Russian government that their outrageous practice of state hostage-taking will not be tolerated. In the meantime, we continue to advocate for the release of the more than 40 other journalists who remain detained in Russia in connection with their work.”
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